Post 7x23
by Binkiekitty
Summary: GSR, what happened between Grissom and Sara after 7x23 through 8x01. Explicit. Many spoilers. Flashbacks to earlier episodes.


"Hey, where were you?" Grissom looked up from his computer as Sara came in the front door.

"Over at Greg's. He's writing that book on old Vegas, wanted to show me what he had so far." She took off her jacket and laid it over the chair. She didn't say anything further while she rifled through the fridge.

"Oh." He pursed his lips and a moment passed. "All night?"

"Yeah, you had work." she said raising an eyebrow. She, again, didn't volunteer anything more. She was still pretty upset about Lady Heather and Grissom spending time over there. Greg was the only one she felt like she could talk to since Nick had his parents visiting for the week. She poured herself a glass of juice and finished it in one gulp.

"Did you have a good time?"

"I always have a great time at Greg's." She placed the glass in the sink and left for the bedroom. She was sleeping before Grissom had even entered the room a few minutes later. He took the hint and went to sleep without questioning her anymore. She was obviously still upset about Lady Heather, but what else could he have done? He fell into a restless sleep. When he got up, her side of the bed was cold.

He ambled out into the living room looking for her. She was curled up on the couch reading a book in her robe. "Hey, done sleeping?"

"Why did you do it? I obviously had issues about it. You obviously have feelings for her still. She obviously has feelings for you still. I had to hear it from Brass. You were with her all night—on a social call—when you told me you were working a double."

"I, uh." He raised his eyebrows in surprise at the sudden outburst and held up his hands with his palms up. "She doesn't have anyone else," he finished lamely, dropping his hands.

"That's it? She doesn't have anyone else so you are going to be her--her somebody?"

"Nothing happened. We just talked. I could tell something wasn't right. She didn't want anything to do with me in a professional capacity."

"No kidding. Gee, I wonder why." Sara crossed her arms in front of her.

"Sara, it wasn't like that. We had tea. We talked about her daughter. We talked about her granddaughter. She was ready to let someone take her life, Sara. Do you think I could just let it happen?"

"So, you had to take care of it yourself? You couldn't send anyone else? What happened to staying objective? There was a crime committed, wasn't there?" She was breathing heavily now, on the verge of tears. "Catherine kept going on and on about her, how you spent the night together, how she matched you at "mental chess" and was uninhibited and charming."

"Well, she is. We did. But we haven't in years. She--" Sara flushed with anger at his words.

"Save it. I'm going to go take a shower, get dressed, and go to work. I'll see you there." Sara left hurriedly. The last thing she needed was Grissom praising Heather, too. She showered and dressed and was leaving the apartment when Grissom said something.

"Sara..." He was pleading. She stopped, but didn't turn around, hand on door handle. "She needed my help. Isn't that why we do this job—to help?"

"I don't do it by spending the night at their house and lie about it." She wrenched the door open and slammed it on the way out.

She knew that she was taking more than his fair share out on him, but it felt good to be mad at him for what he did and for her own inadequacies staring her in the face. She sped off to work and slumped down on the locker room bench, staring at nothing when Greg came in.

"Still mad, huh?"

"I just don't understand why he would lie about it. Why he would spend so much time—an entire night—at her place—and think I would be OK with it." She was staring at the floor.

"Would you be less mad if he had been honest with you?" Greg put his hand on her elbow and she looked up at him.

"I don't know. Maybe?"

"Are you going to tell me who this guy is so I can slap him?"

"No." She looked back at the floor.

"Well, I have a good idea who it is anyway." Sara's head snapped toward him. "But I'll drop it. You won't hear another word about who it is."

She nodded.

"Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah." He hugged her and she hugged him back with fervor. It felt good to get some physical contact with another human being. A tear trickled down her cheek as she hugged him and he noticed it as they pulled away.

"Aww, Sara." He brushed her tear aside with a clumsy thumb as Grissom entered the room.

He just looked down at them before saying, "Assignments in the break room. Now." He left without another word.

"Looks like Grissom is in a ripe mood," Greg said as he got up. "Coming?"

"Yeah, I'll be right there."

She sat down on a couch waiting for Catherine to join the rest of them when Grissom walked back in. He gave her a hard look she pretended not to see out of the corner of her eye. She sat by herself, careful to not incriminate herself any further in his eyes. She knew what he must be thinking, and while she didn't want to encourage it, she also took a guilty pleasure in making him see how it felt.

"Looks like we have a full night. Warrick, Catherine, you've got a trick roll at the Palms. Nick, Sara, you two take the DB off of the strip. Suspicious circs. Brass will meet you there. Greg, you're with me. We've got a DB in Henderson, looks like it might be suicide, but there is significant insect activity."

Sara eyed Grissom and knew that Greg was about to be in for a hard night. She felt bad for the kid.

She and Nick headed out and he immediately noticed her somberness. "Feeling alright, there?"

"Yeah," she answered. "Just having a little trouble with the man in my life."

"I didn't know you were seeing anyone! Since when?"

"Oh, almost two years. We've just kept it quiet." His mouth opened but she countered before he was able to get anything out, "It's staying that way."

"Ah. No names?"

"No names."

"So what did he do?"

"He spent the night at an ex-lover's, lied about it, and generally made me jealous. I hate being jealous."

"Ah. Is he the kind to cheat?" Sara thought on that for a second. No. He was not the kind that would cheat, ever. He was the kind that would be thoughtless with his actions and how they would be taken by someone else, though.

"No. He didn't cheat. It just... hurt. Especially when his friends think she is perfect for him"

"Ah. Well, then they don't know a good woman when they see one. You, my dear, are a catch." Sara blushed at his words and felt a little better. Their night went as well as it could, investigating a homicide, as it turned out. They talked, bantered, and ended up grabbing breakfast after shift.

Greg, on the other hand, didn't have such a great night. He spent the night collecting bugs, sifting human soup soils, and having one-sided conversations. Greg was aware of the tension between Grissom and Sara and was beginning to wonder if he was her mystery man. Grissom, on the other hand, was acutely aware that Sara had just been hugging him, he had been touching her, and they spend the last night together.

It started out well enough. Grissom assigned Greg the larval pickup duty, which he didn't mind, while Grissom identified all of the specimens. Grissom then had Greg go through each layer of dirt, under where the corpse had been, for about three hours. Greg figured he was just being Grissom, and continued his normal one-sided conversation with Grissom.

"Geez, this is really sticky dirt. I guess that's what you get when you have human soup on you for two weeks, huh?" Grissom didn't acknowledge his underling's comment. "Did you know that Sara is seeing a guy? Apparently he wasn't real nice to her, she spent all last night talking about it. Do you know who it is?" Grissom's head jerked up at this but he regained his composure, determined to ignore this last string of information.

"He spend the night at some ex-girlfriend's place and lied about it. Can you believe it? Someone could treat Sar like that? I mean, if I was with her, I would spend every spare second with her. 'Course she would never want me. I think older men are her type." Grissom smiled inwardly at his last sentence and then realized what Greg had said.

"What do you mean he lied about it?" Grissom finally rose to answer Greg. Greg flinched in surprise before answering.

"Well, he said he was going to stay at work and finish up, but he spend the entire night at this other woman's house. I don't think she would have minded as much if he had told the truth, but she is a bit jealous of this other chick."

"She's jealous of her? What has she got to be jealous of anyone for?"

"_That_ is exactly what I said. Sara is like, perfect." Grissom clenched at this last statement.

"Is she really upset?"

"Yeah. She was crying before shift. She never cries."

They spent the rest of the time not talking until the drive back to the lab.

"I hope Sara had a good night. I can't stand seeing her upset."

"So what does she want this guy to do?"

"I don't know. I don't know if Sara knows. She definitely wants an apology. She wants him to say that she's better than his ex. I don't know, what do girls aways want to hear?"

They entered the lab and found Sara and Nick joking around in the break room. "No. You totally had that chick. Did you get her number?" Sara was giggling.

"Naw. Well. Yeah, I did. But I threw it out. I don't date girls I meet on the strip anymore. Always leads to trouble and murder charges." They laughed together and Sara didn't notice Grissom come in.

She jumped when he said, "how was the the DB on the strip?"

Nick answered. "He was a homeless guy, looks like he died of natural causes and happened to fall into a freshly poured cement foundation."

"Ah. Good. Well, Greg and I have finished up. Drop off your report before you go." He left without another word. He knew he should say something to Sara, but thought that if they got into it again, work would not be a good place to do it.

He finished his paperwork and waited anxiously until the end of shift. When he left, he saw that Sara's car was already gone. He went right home to catch her, but she wasn't there when he got there either. Sara, Nick, and Greg had gone for breakfast at the diner across the street and she got back about an hour after the end of shift.

"Sara, you have to give us a hint. You see a guy for almost two years and you don't even tell us?" Nick was trying to persuade Sara over a plate of eggs.

"Nick, I don't want the whole world knowing about my private life." Sara was smiling and shaking her head.

"It's not the whole world, it's just us!" Nick was not going to give up easily. "What, is he hideous or something?"

"Nick, she's not going to budge. If she's kept it quiet for two years, she's not going to let it go this easily."

"Greg is right. I'm not going to spill." She took another sip of her milk and looked down at her watch. "You know, it's time we all get to bed anyway."

"You're just looking for an escape. Greg, help me out here! Who have we seen her with?" Nick had barely touched his plate.

"Just you, me, Warrick, Grissom, Brass, Hodges... a few of the lab guys. Maybe it's detective Vartann!" Greg winked at Sara.

Sara left the diner and was sure that Greg knew who she was seeing. It would have bothered her if it was anyone else, but he was keeping his mouth shut.

Grissom was on the couch reading a book when she came in. "Hey."

"Hey," Sara replied.

"Where were you?"

"Breakfast with the guys." She crossed the room and headed to the office. "Are you hungry?

"No." He looked up from his book and tilted his head in thought. "Are you still upset with me?"

"Yes and no."A silent pause passed between them while she mulled this over.

"Are you going to explain?"

"Well, I'm upset that you lied. I'm hurt that you spent the night at an ex's place. I'm even more upset that you downplayed your relationship with her. I do see why you went and I agree that you had to go, I just think you handled the whole situation..."

"Poorly?"

"Yes. Poorly. Very Poorly." She gave him a half smile and sighed. "I just don't understand why you lied about it."

He opened his mouth in response but stopped as the words ran dry. She waited and when it became apparent that the words weren't going to come she turned and went to their office. She was typing furiously on her computer when he entered a short while later. He stood at the door, leaning on one side looking at her. She didn't notice, or pretended not to. She slapped the keys and rose from her chair, gave him a hard look and slid past him and into the bathroom where he heard the shower start.

He had no idea what to say. He didn't even know where to start. Walking toward his desk in the office room, he sat down and began to work on some long overdue grant proposals. He would wait until she was sleeping to crawl into bed.

When he went in an hour later, she was fast asleep and he kissed her hand. "I am sorry. I just don't know what to say." She continued to sleep. When he woke up, she was already gone. He dressed and went to work a little early. When he got there, he immediately wrote her a little note:

_Sara,_

_I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lied. I didn't even make the connection that this _

_was a personal matter rather than work related. I guess the lines got _

_blurred. I know I don't usually say the right words, or any words, at times_

_but I want you to know that I love you. I'm sorry. I'll see you later. _

_Gil_

He slipped this into her locker. Walking back to his office, he picked up the folder on the Miniature Killer and took out a stack of photographs, labeling them as deceased. He was getting more and more stressed out by this killer. So meticulous. Already had one confess for him.

Sara arrived at the lab. "Sara." Grissom was in his office. "Can you come here for a minute?" She steered her way into the dark room.

"What's up?" She leaned against the door jamb, the same was Grissom had done the day before, arms crossed.

"Did you get my note?"

"The one in the locker?"

"Yeah."

"Yes, I did," going inside and closing the door behind her, she continued. "Thank you. I understand, I do. I—we just had a lot to talk about when we get off tomorrow."

"I know we do. I just didn't want you to think I didn't care."

"I know you care. It isn't about that."

"Maybe keeping this a secret has become a mistake." He leaned against his chair as she strode forward toward his desk.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Catherine wouldn't have said those things if she knew we were together and I know that it would have made me staying at Heather's a little more volatile for everyone, but at my expense, not yours."

"I don't know. It could complicate things a lot. Not to mention Ecklie."

"Well, think about it?"

"I will."

Grissom checked his e-mail and looked up, "Another of the Dell kids is dead." He looked down again, engrossed in what he was doing. She quietly left the room.

Getting up to grab the file on the Miniature killer case, Hodges came in. "Hey Boss. I heard you got another lead on one of the Dell fosters?"

Writing the word "deceased" across the top, Grissom replied, "Yeah, I got an e-mail. Raymond Dell. Died two years ago in some bizarre backhoe incident in Rapid City."

"Ok. That's good. One less suspect." Grissom's cell rang with Brass on the other end calling him out to see another of the Dell fosters.

Grissom arrived at the apartment with Brass and the Super only to find a seemingly empty apartment with the slight smell of spoiled meat. The apartment was dark, quiet, and cold. It wasn't until Grissom saw the miniature among the other figurines that he knew something was amiss.

Almost at the same moment, "Hey Gil, we've got a body." Brass called it in.

Grissom called Sara to the scene. David pronounced the victim's TOD indeterminable. Hoping that they may be able to spend some time together for this case, he answered his phone, "Grissom."

"Gil, it's Catherine. We still need assignments down here. Are you gonna make it back or what?" Grissom realized he would have to leave the scene processing to Sara after all and waited for her to arrive.

"It's all yours, my dear." He hoped it was affectionate enough without showing too much PDA. She half-smiled at him but was already too preoccupied to really notice. It wasn't until they were back at the lab, meeting with Warrick and Nick, that he knew she was being more receptive to him. She sat next to him before the other two showed up to talk about the current miniature case.

"So you forgive me?" Grissom said quietly while waiting for the guys.

"I guess so... We still have a lot to talk about." She said, half smiling.

"So I'm not totally off the hook, then?" He cocked his head to one side.

"Like I said, we'll save it for when we get off." Warrick and Nick entered the room before Grissom could answer.

They hashed over the evidence. This killing was not the Miniature killer's style—too up close and personal. And why was there only a miniature figurine, why no scene?

"Hodges ran fabric, paint glue, and plastic samples of the Trevor doll. Materials were consistent with the previous minis." Grissom explained to the group.

"No luck with that print?" Nick asked.

"It was only a partial, not enough to put through AFIS. But there were epithelials in the print. Wendy's running DNA." Grissom picked up the scan of the finger print.

"So what now?" Warrick asked.

"We find out exactly how he died. We follow the evidence of this Trevor doll. I'm going to see where this bracelet takes me." Grissom responded. Nick followed Grissom to his office.

"The second contributer was XX." Grissom was still puzzling over this turn of events. It was just so unusual to for a woman to be a serial killer _and _mentally ill. He didn't take much time to ponder over this new turn before he left for the hobby store leaving Nick thinking on his own.

Nick ran to the morgue. Something was not right. Doc Robbins was a bit weary of people second guessing his findings, but what Nick said turned out to be true. This man was not beaten to death, at least not by another person. Nick called Catherine and said he would meet her there. Together they found the cause of electrocution. Dead end. It was obvious that this miniature case was not killed by the miniature killer.

Grissom, on the other hand, had a break at the hobby store. The bracelet was made for a woman named Natalie. She was an avid miniature enthusiast who seemed, to the clerk, to be a little—or lot—off. The name was enough to release foster care records. First Grissom and Sofia went to the only other foster parents still alive who had once been guardians for Natalie. This parent described her as being broken. Next Grissom and Catherine interviewed Natalie's biological father.

"How did Natalie deal with it?" Grissom asked after the story of Cloe's death came forward.

"I don't know. It was hard on both of us. I tried for a while, but I just couldn't handle it. I had to give her up." Christopher finished. Grissom and Catherine left, both silent until they got to their car.

"Can you imagine? One child killing the other?"

"Catherine, sibling rivalry and even murder is well documented through history. Look at Cain and Abel. Remus and Romulus. The tutor sisters, Catherine and Elizabeth. Being siblings doesn't make them love each other."

"I guess. I'm glad Lindsey is an only child!" Catherine drove while Grissom called Sara. He wanted to work this part of the case with her.

Sara's phone rang, "Hello Gilbert."

"Hey, we got an ID on the miniature killer. Her name is Natalie Davis."

"One of Ernie Dell's fosters?"

"Yeah. Catherine and I just spoke to the biological father. Says he put her up for adoption after she shoved her kid sister out of a tree house."

"Does he know where she is now?

"No, but with a name, it's just a matter of time."

"Alright, I'll be right there. I'll meet you at the lab." Sara closed her phone and put her case in the trunk. She had just had lunch and was anxious to find out more about the killer. She also wanted to see Grissom. She hadn't seen him since the first hour of shift and they were well into a double now. It seemed that their talk would have to wait.

She was just thinking about how her anger had melted off of her all night and was planning on telling him just that when they saw each other when-- "Sara?" She remembered no more of the parking garage.

Grissom arrived at the lab shortly after the phone conversation and went to wait in his office for Sara. Before he got there, he was accosted by Hodges about something or other. When he got to his office, about twenty minutes had passed. Looking around the room, he noticed something out of place. The most recent miniature was sitting on his desk and his stomach felt like it had been plunged into a bucket of ice. He picked up the car with a tissue and his heart stopped for a moment. A miniature of Sara was under the car. He picked up his phone and called her back. Surely she was safe. He had talked to her not thirty minutes ago.

"Common Sara. Pick up. Please pick up." Grissom sighed in frustration as he hung up.

Brass looked at Sara's phone ringing in her trunk. Brass had just arrived to a possible mugging when he recognized Sara's car. It had turned from mundane into heart wrenching in a matter of a second. When he saw Grissom's name on the caller ID, Brass choked. He would call his friend to break the news.

"Grissom."

"Gil. It's Brass. We just found Sara's car, keys, phone. We think she's been abducted."

Grissom's heart stopped again for the second time tonight. He knew what had happened.

"Gil, you there?"

"Yeah. Brass, there's another miniature on my desk. It looks like it had a miniature figurine of Sara under a car. Brass, the miniature is moving. She's still alive."

"Good god."

"I'm rounding up everyone." Grissom didn't wait for Brass to respond, he just hung up and went to the layout room where the miniature was now. He paged the team. _New miniature killing. Layout room ASAP. _

Everyone was there within five minutes. Catherine got a call from Brass explaining where Sara was. "Brass says that Sara has been abducted by the miniature killer. We don't know when. We don't know how. All we have is this miniature."

"Doll's still alive. That means Sara's still alive." Greg said hopefully.

"Generic stretch of desert. She could be anywhere in a four state radius." Nick replied, looking at the smashed car.

"Let's just focus on the details. There's always something to go on." Catherine sighed.

"She has to make these in advance, right? How do you plan a car wreak? There's no way to know how the car's going to land." Warrick said to no body. Then it struck him. "Unless you wreak the car first and put her under it."

"I think I got a Vin number..." Nick said.

"Give me the first six," Greg said as he began to type on the computer.

Grissom came in just then. "Her name is Natalie Davis and she works for out janitorial service."

"Here? In the lab?" Catherine took the paper from Grissom. "For over a month. She's never been arrested so there's nothing to flag on a security check. She used Ernie Dell's home address on her work form. She has no home phone and no driver's license."

"Ok. I got it." Greg's computer had finally spit out results.

"Pull up the case photos." Grissom's mouth went dry. Pictures of Sara and he were there. "My god. She was at the crime scene." So she was Natalie. She knew. That was why Sara was taken. To get to him. Grissom covered his mouth not hearing what the others were saying until he heard Catherine,

"I don't know. This just feels different."

Grissom was now in shock. "This was different." He remembered Sara's arm, touching it, caressing it. They had spent the last day on lake Mead. Her freckles had popped out and earlier that day he had spent the morning kissing each one while she giggled. Later that night they had finished what they started before shift. He loved her. Natalie knew that.

"This girl holds me responsible for the death of Ernie Dell. I took away the only person she ever loved. So she's going to do the same thing to me." The other CSIs looked at him or at each other. He left to find out if Natalie had been under his nose all along under the bisque doll name. The others stayed in the room, silent and stunned.

"Grissom and Sara?" Nick asked to no one.

"That explains why Grissom is acting so differently."Catherine said. "We have to find her for Sara's sake and for his." They all looked at her and understood. If they loose Sara, they loose Grissom, too.

When Grissom figured out her address, Sophia, Nick, and Warrick went.

"I'll meet you there." Grissom said.

"No you won't." Catherine said quietly behind him. He spun around.

"Why not?" He looked angry.

"You are too close to this. Way too close. You need to let us do most of this." He huffed. "We should take you off this completely, but I know you wouldn't stand for it."

She left his office and left him there to think.

They were supposed to be at home, talking about things, making up. She wasn't supposed to be buried under a car, paying for his crimes. Surely Natalie knew what this was doing to him. That was the point. If anything happened to Sara—especially now. Did she know that he loved her? That he was sorry? He regretted everything with Lady Heather in that moment. What he wouldn't give to go back and make it right. Had his phone call distracted or slowed her?

All he knew was that this was his fault. He had always known that a relationship with her could be dangerous, but he had never thought anything like this could happen. It was his fault that Sara was missing, that she could be--

His phone rang.

"Grissom."

"Gil, this is Sophia. We have her. We're bringing her in. She has an entire workshop here, really creepy. Lots of drawings of Sara. This has been planned for a long time." He hung up the hone. Brass was at his door, having heard the news.

"I'll take you to the viewing room." They walked in silence to the one sided mirror. Natalie was brought in and seemed unaffected by the whole ordeal. Brass had gone all protective father on Natalie. He was ready to do anything to get her back. Grissom said the unexpected.

"I want to talk to her, Jim. Alone." Brass knew it wasn't smart. He knew that it was against policy and if Catherine found out, he'd be in trouble. But he couldn't say no to him. Not now. Not when he was like this. Grissom interviewed Natalie, to no avail.

Outside, it began to rain.

Brass told Grissom that they have three choppers in the air, looking for her. Because the weather was getting cooler, it would be easier to find her. Grissom wasn't convinced as his attention turned to the TV displaying the current weather. Flash flood warnings.

Grissom blanched white and retrieved a flask and filled it with water. As he poured it over the miniature, he realized that Sara could be drowning as they sat there, doing, what he felt like was, nothing. He glanced back to the miniature. The motor moving the mini hand had stopped ominously, as if playing out Grissom's fear in front of him. He walked down the hall, away from the reminder that Sara was trapped, and found Warrick working on what must be Natalie's car.

He began collecting samples of plants stuck to the bumpers, wheel wells, tires, and undercarriage. He was running on auto pilot. His thoughts were with Sara. Flashes of their relationship coursed through his mind. When she first met. When they first touched. When she brushed his face. When he told her she was beautiful. When she asked him out for dinner. So many times had come and gone. They had only been together for two years and they could have had seven years—or more.

His memory took over and thrust him into the past. The first time she had spent the night.

"_Grissom, I'm sorry, but I really think that I'll be fine."_

"_You fell asleep on the lab's couch and had a nightmare. You obviously have been having trouble sleeping." _

"_I know. But I've always had trouble sleeping."_

"_Not this bad. I've never seen you look more tired than these last few days." _

"_It will go away. It always does." _

"_You've never had a friend abducted—nearly killed. I don't think that memory will fade for any of us any time soon." She shifted on the couch. His apartment was clearly a bachelor's pad. All of the furniture was intended for one person. The couch was short, the chair was across the room and by its self. Grissom had dragged it over by the couch so they could talk. _

"_I really will be fine. I just... I'll do some more meditation or something." _

"_Why don't you just relax, drink that tea, change, and use the guest bed here. You can't drive in the state you're in and neither of our cars are here." The entire team's cars had been taken as part of an evidence gathering seminar, mandated by Ecklie. Grissom thought that he just wanted to bother the night shift again, but complied. It was part of the making-nice-with-the-ass thing he was trying because Ecklie had finally given him back his team. First shift had dropped them off at their homes, but when they go to Grissom and Sara, they got a call and asked Sara if she minded being dropped off at Grissom's. Grissom had invited her in for some breakfast and they talked. _

"_I don't have anything to change into," Sara said pointedly. _

"_I'll go get a shirt and sweat pants. They'll be big, but they should work." Sara gave in, finding her walking down the hall to the bedrooms. She passed what must be Grissom's bedroom door and was tempted to peak inside, but didn't. She opened the other door to a room that was half storage for books and half guest room with a double bed dressed in plain white sheets and a dark blue comforter. She changed and slipped into the covers. When she woke up, she found Grissom sitting on the side of the bed. She was covered in sweat and he was looking down at her with concern in his face. _

"_Are you alright?" _

"_I'm fine. Why." Sara did not ask a question. It was an accusation. Why was he in her room? Sitting on her bed? _

"_You were—well, you were having a dream. I heard it from my room." _

"_I'm fine. Really. I can shut the door if it bothers you. Or call a taxi and go home." _

"_That's not what I meant. I wanted to know you were alright. I never really took these seriously."_

"_These what?" _

"_The nightmares. I thought, at the time, that you brought it up as a guilt tactic."_

"_When?"_

"_When you asked me if I wanted to sleep with you." _

"_Oh. That. It was guilt. I was trying to make you feel guilty. I didn't think you had feelings at the time."_

"_I can see that. Do...Do. Um. Do you want me to stay now?" _

"_I think that would be a bad idea." Sara was still haunted by the night he had refused her. Being friends was one thing. Getting sucked into the idea that they could be together was another. _

"_You do. Ok. Well. I'll let you go back to sleep. I'll be down the hall if you need anything." He got up and left her to think about their conversation. When she got up, she said hello and took a taxi to her apartment and spent her night off cleaning. Grissom thought about Sara. He knew then that he had waited much too long. _

Grissom was brought back from his thoughts by his phone ringing. It was Nick. With a list of areas to search and a search radius of 34 miles, they were getting closer.

He was watching the video footage from the parking garage now, with Greg. He cringed slightly as he saw Sara being dragged across the floor. His eyes looked on, unseeing. He was thinking about when he had finally broke the ice with her.

It had been a Sunday

"_Sara, come to breakfast with me. You look like you haven't eaten since before your first shift."_

"_That would be because I haven't," Sara said._

"_Well, come to breakfast, then." Grissom wanted a chance to talk to her alone._

"_Alright, but you're paying." They arrived at the diner and took a booth, sitting across from each other. _

"_Is there a reason that you haven't eaten?" Grissom asked as they waited for their orders. _

"_Busy night. Plus, I think one of your experiments in the fridge got spilled in there. Ever since then, anything that comes out of that fridge smells dead."_

"_Well you wouldn't want to eat anything alive, would you?" Grissom smirked._

"_You owe us a new fridge. Use your own fridge for your experiments." Sara was a bit short. She was tired, hungry, and it was mostly Grissom's fault. _

"_Thank you for coming in early last night. We really needed you." _

"_That's fine, was there a reason no one else could come in?" Sara already knew that he hadn't called anyone else. She had asked everyone that night._

"_I just thought that it was a case specially suited for you," Grissom replied. Their food came and he had difficulty swallowing it. He was trying to build up the courage to ask her out. He was not expecting anything. Well, he was sort of expecting to be rejected. That was what he had done, after all. _

_Breakfast came and went. They talked about all manner of things, but not the topic Grissom was trying to broach. Finally Sara stood up. "It's about time to go. I'll be right back." She headed off to the ladies' room while he tried to figure out what to say. _

_When she came back, he still hadn't found the words. Instead, he paid the tab and they left for their separate homes in their separate cars. Grissom was almost home, cursing himself, when he turned left instead of right. He found himself in front of her apartment and walking up her stairs. Before he knew it, he was knocking. _

"_Be right there." Sara called from inside. When she opened the door, she looked startled. _

"_Can I come in?" Grissom asked. _

"_Um. Sure. Did I forget something?" _

"_Sara... I—Uh. You have tonight off, right?" _

"_Yes. And no, I'm not coming in." _

"_No. Of course not. I wanted to know if you were doing anything tonight." _

"_Nothing in particular. Just relaxing. Maybe go to a movie." _

"_Oh. Well, um. See, the thing is. Would you like to go to dinner with me? Tonight? You don't have to say yes. We can go to a movie instead." _

_He nearly tripped over his words, they were coming out so quickly. _

_Sara stood there, mouth partly open, stunned at the words which had just been uttered. _

"_Sara?" _

"_Grissom. I. Yeah. Sure. That... That would be fine. Is this work related? Do we have another case?" _

"_No. This is a personal thing." He looked at her. She looked like a deer caught in headlights. Then she blinked and half smiled. _

"_That would be nice, Grissom."_

_With that, he turned to leave and stopped when he heard her walk toward him. _

"_Leaving?" She stepped closer to him as he turned around. _

"_I thought it might be best." He faced her now. _

"_What time should I be ready?" She walked even closer. _

"_Six thirty." He gulped. _

"_I'll be waiting." She kissed him lightly. She backed away and he grabbed her face, roughly, and pulled it toward his mouth. Again, they kissed, this time with more force. Her hands found his shoulders and his other hand found her waist. One kiss turned into several, aggressive kisses. Neither could stop. Neither wanted to. He pushed her back to the counter and pinned her there. His hand dropped from her face and began to ride up her stomach. Her hands dropped to his back and pulled up his shirt. The feeling of his skin left her hands hot. He pushed her back, making her back arch and her breasts strain against her shirt and press against his chest. His mouth dropped from her's and began to explore her neck and the top of her chest. She threw her head back and sighed, still pulling his shirt up. When it was almost off his body, he stopped. _

"_We should wait. This is too much, too soon," He said. _

"_Too soon? Five years or working with me, seven of knowing me—that is too soon?" She was breathless as she said this but the indignation was audible. _

"_I just mean, maybe after our first date. I'll go. I'll see you tonight at six-thirty." He left before she could protest, leaving her shocked, amazed, and a little upset. _

He was roused by Greg saying, "She went west on Imperial." For a moment, Grissom had been lost in his memory. Reality flooded back to him and his stomach was filled with worry again. He called Brass.

Walking down the hall, he found Warrick still working on Natalie's car.

"Grissom. Zip tie. Unlocked. I think Sara got out of this trunk. The speaker's completely ripped out from the inside. She could have reached through and released the back seat. And there's blood on the glass. Could have been a struggle."

"Yeah, but none of that is going to tell us where She is. We need a store receipt or a parking stub. Something with a location on it."

"If she got out of this car, she might not even be in the desert. We might be completely off base here.

"No. Natalie completed the miniature, I saw it in her eyes. Sara's under that car."

"Pollen and spores, off the bumper and Natalie's head, both over lap in Red Rock Canyon," Hodges interrupted.

"Did you notify S and R?" Grissom said as he walked over to Hodges.

"Yeah, they're on their way."

Grissom was in his car, on his way to the canyon when he got the call from Brass. They had the location of where the car was towed to—Icebox Canyon. Grissom turned around as Nick called.

"Do we have her?"

"No, but we have a location—Icebox Canyon."

"Come get me. I want to be there."

"I'll be there in ten." They lead the squad cars through the desert toward the canyon.

They head Greg, first, "To the left. Down there. That's it, that's the car."

Then they heard the other officer, "Control, this is three. We are twenty miles west of the 159 near Icebox Canyon. Red colored vehicle is spotted. Fits the description."

Grissom stepped harder on the gas peddle. When they found the car, they both ran to the side and began to dig in the sand. Grissom called her name. Nick caught hold of something and pulled up Sara's vest. Grissom and Nick both stopped breathing. Grissom stumbled a bit and walked away. Nick picked up his pace, digging more ferociously.

Before long, the car was being towed away and the entire area was dug out. Catherine joined them. Grissom was in a trance. It looked to Nick like he was in shock. Really he was remembering their first date.

"_Well I should let you take me to dinner more often," Sara said as they walked into the restaurant. It was clearly upscale and Sara was pleased that she had decided to wear a skirt. _

"_I hear this place has the best vegetarian dishes in all of Las Vegas." Grissom was pulling out her chair as he said this. _

"_I'm glad you remembered this time," Sara smiled at his thoughtfulness. _

"_It is my fault, isn't it, that you're vegetarian?" _

"_Sort of. Really, it is the pig's fault for looking so gross. You helped, though, yeah." They were smiling at each other, making small talk, both thinking about what had happened earlier. _

_They made it through dinner and Grissom walked Sara to her door. _

"_Thank you. This was very nice. Would you like to come in?" _

"_That may be a dangerous idea." _

"_That's the point, isn't it?" He raised his eyebrows as she unlocked the door and took his hand, leading him in. "Would you like something to drink?" They both took off their shoes, since Sara's carpet was shell white._

"_Sure, what have you got?" _

"_Beer, water, milk, juice, tea, coffee." _

"_A beer would be fine." She grabbed a beer for him and some juice for herself and sat on her couch. He followed her lead and sat on the chair. _

"_So is this going to be an on going thing, or is this a one time only thing?" Sara tilted her head, trying to make light of the question. _

"_Well, I'd like it to be more on going than one time. I suppose that's up to you." He took a sip of his beer. _

"_Ah. My court, huh?" Sara put down her drink._

"_I'm sorry?" He placed his beer on the coffee table._

"_The ball. Its a saying. The ball is in my court. It is my move." _

"_Something like that, yes." He pursed his lips, looking at the table. _

_They say in a comfortable silence for a while before Sara stood up. She took Grissom's hand and pulled him out of the chair. He didn't say anything but his confusion was evident. She looked at him and kissed him. Simply. Sweetly. Unexpectedly. He returned it. _

_Like before, the heat grew quickly. Her hands were quicker this time, pulling his shirt off right away. His hands wondered to her back and they slowly back toward the wall. Grissom took her hands in his and held them above her head. He held them there with one hand while he felt her stomach with the other, all the while kissing her. As his hand left hers, she found her own shirt being taken off. She stood there in a plain bra. Her nipples poked at the fabric. He found her mouth again and pressed his body against hers. _

_She pressed back and slowly began to inch toward her bedroom. They slowly made their way down the hall. Her hands found his belt, the buckle coming undone easily. His pants were next. They fell to the floor where he simply stepped out of them, while kissing her neck, just below her right ear. Her hands hugged him to her; she moaned at his lips on her skin. His fingers stumbled a bit on the bra clasp but freed her breasts in the end. The material fell to the floor, with his pants, unnoticed. Their motions were fluid, nothing existed but the two of them. _

_When they reacher her room, they were both in their underwear and socks. Grissom took one nipple in his mouth and she gasped at the touch. He did not take care to shield her skin from his teeth, as he pulled on her. Her head was turned toward the ceiling, but her eyes were unseeing. She was filled with pure bliss. His mouth made its way back to her mouth and kissed her deeply again. He soon had her underwear off. She reached down and removed his boxers, again, letting them gracefully slide to the floor. She sat on the bed and he followed her down, covering her with his own body. _

_She pinched his nipples, lightly, and he buried his face in her neck, tasting her. They were both rocking back and fourth, and soon found themselves in that familiar rhythm. When she felt him enter, she gasped. After a few trusts, they both felt the euphoria associated with the beginning of any coupling. _

_Slowing down. Speeding up. Finally, her back arched and he knew what was happening. He kissed her neck as she came and he thrust deeper to bring himself there as well. _

_When they were done, they both laid in each other's arms. They were sweaty, but it didn't matter. At least, not to Grissom. _

"_I need to take a shower," she said. She kissed him and headed toward the bathroom. He laid there and heard her turn on the water, imagining what she looked like under its stream. When she came back, he got up to do the same and noticed her wet footprints on her tile floor._

That was when it hit him. He was staring at her footprints in the desert sand. "Catherine! I got shoe prints!"

Catherine jogged over to Grissom, "She got out from under that car. OK, everyone, listen up. We're searching on foot." They started out while Grissom thought about Sara. Why couldn't their last time together be like their first? Why did it have to be rushed because of work? Why did this have to happen when they were in the middle of an argument?

After walking for a few miles, the footprints began to disappear. Grissom found a few rock stacks before he found something else while looking through his binoculars.

A boot and a hand. Half buried in the sand. "Oh no." It was so inadequate for what he was feeling. It was all he could muster. He ran, while his blood ran cold. Catherine just followed.

They reached the body and neither said anything. They began to dig it out and Grissom rolled it over onto his knees, looking at the dirt covered corpse. Whether it looked like Sara or not, to Grissom it was.

_It really could be too late..._

Her words haunted him. He carefully brushed the dirt from her face. He was lost in his thoughts, Sara saying over and over...

I_t really could be too late... _

_It really could be too late... _

_It really could be too late... _

Catherine broke in, "It's not her."

He couldn't say anything, just breath, and that was hard, too. It would almost have been better it it had been her. At least he would know where she was.

They phoned the victim's identification in and found him to be a camper, caught in the storm.

He couldn't help himself when he hung up. For the first time in years, he was fighting back tears.

He sighed. "Where is he Catherine? It's a hundred and ten degrees. She's been out here all day. Without water. She's disoriented. She's dehydrated." He was beginning to loose hope.

"She's a surviver." Catherine looked at her friend. She could tell he was starting to give up.

He was unconvinced, but nodded just the same. They headed back to the cars, waiting for something else to turn up. They drove toward one of the freeways surrounding the canyon. Suddenly they heard Sophia.

"Found Sara. North on the 159 down to Turtle Head Peak. We need a medivak here right now."

Grissom looked at Catherine who floored the gas peddle. They arrived just as the S&R chopper landed. They ran to where Nick and Sophia were. Hope was now lodged in Grissom's throat.

"How is she?" Catherine asked.

"She's not responding," the medic replied.

The hope Grissom had held turned to anxiety. Surely they had not found her in time to see her die. He tried to keep it together. Again, tears boiled close to the surface. He covered his face with his hand, and for the first time since he was sixteen, he prayed. _Please God. Just let her be ok. _

As her IV was started, he reached down to support her arm. He wanted to touch her. To know that she was there. To let her know that he was there.

They loaded her into the chopper.

"Where are you taking her?" Catherine yelled over the blades.

"Desert Palm."

"Move over. I'm coming with her." Grissom was not asking. He jumped in and they flew off. They worked on her, and radioed ahead to the hospital. Grissom grasped her hand. It was limp, but he felt it imbibe him with hope, once more. He stared intently at her, willing her to open her eyes. To be ok. To live.

Her eyes fluttered and cracked open. She read the word "Grissom," but didn't know what it meant. It wasn't until she saw his eyes, crinkled at the corners, that she knew she was going to be ok.

Grissom couldn't smile, he couldn't say anything. He could only hold back the flood of emotion threatening to take over. She wasn't awake very long before she slipped back into unconsciousness.

When they arrived at the hospital, they would not let Grissom follow. He was left to wait in the waiting area where the rest of the team soon gathered. She was going to be ok.

"Grissom, man. We found her!" Nick was so excited. He hugged Grissom and, unlike when he did it before he left for sabbatical, Grissom returned the hug.

Greg and Catherine followed. They carried coffee for everyone. Grissom took a cup without drinking from it. He was anxious to see Sara. Warrick came in with Brass, the Doc, and Sophia.

"We just got back from the station. I took the pleasure of telling the loony that she didn't succeed. You know what she did? She smiled." Brass sat down.

"Yeah, she was just like—I don't know, content," Warrick said.

Grissom listened without hearing as his friends kept talking. He was remembering about a year ago when he was lying on her bed.

"_I don't know. Most people want to die in their sleep, I suppose. Never know it's happening. Like a crime scene—surprise. You're dead. I'd prefer to know in advance that I was going to die. I'd like to be diagnosed with cancer, actually. Get some time to prepare." Grissom sighed. "Go back to the rainforest one more time. Reread __Moby Dick__. Possibly enter an international chess tournament. At least have enough time to say goodbye to the people I love."_

He would never forget her response.

"_I'm not ready to say goodbye yet."_

Thank god, she was still unwilling to say goodbye. The doctor came out to ask about her next of kin. It didn't surprise anyone there that Grissom was her Power of Attorney. They all supposed that she was his POA. Grissom followed the doctor toward the curtain lined rooms.

"She's pretty beat up and severely dehydrated, but she is stable. She isn't leaving us today. Her harm is fractured in two places. She'll need some bandaging on her face and antibiotics. But she'll make a full recovery. She is sleeping. Would you like to see her?"

Grissom only nodded before he was lead behind one of the curtains. There she was. Sleeping. Healthy. Whole. Well, almost. He sat in a chair next to the bed and held her hand again. It was less limp and had been cleaned. He kissed it and held it to his face.

"God Sara. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for our fight. I'm sorry for putting to through this." He whispered to her as his head began to droop down. He felt her hand stir and stroke his cheek.

Through her oxygen mask she said, "It's not your fault." Her voice was horse and barely audible, but it was there. He grabbed her whole arm and leaned onto her bed, looking at her. She fell asleep again and didn't wake until she was in a regular hospital room. It was filled with flowers, balloons, card, and people. Greg, Nick, Catherine, Warrick, Brass, and Grissom were all there talking quietly. She blinked. No one seemed to notice that she was awake. They were trying to question Grissom about their relationship.

"So you're the mystery guy that Sara was seeing?" Nick was completely dumbfounded.

"Is seeing." Grissom corrected.

"For how long?"

"How did she react to you staying at Lady Heather's?"

"Are you two living together?"

"_Why_ didn't you tell us!?"

All of these questions were asked at almost the same time and none of them were answered. Sara was confused. How did they know.

"Hey, you all know this is a hospital right? Full of sick people?" Sara's voice was still not firm, but was getting stronger and full of amusement.

They all turned to see her and each one smiled. Grissom got up and walked to her. "How are you feeling?"

"Like someone tried to kill me." Everyone laughed at this. The other side of her bed was soon lined with the others.

"They are charging Natalie with all of the murders, your abduction, and about a million other things." Greg thought Sara would want to know this.

"Doctor says you can start back to work when you feel alright, but Grissom says you need at least another week off," Catherine informed Sara.

Sara looked at Grissom. "We'll see. I'll go crazy if you keep me away that long!"

"What I didn't tell them, Sara, is that I was planning to take the same week off, you know, since we're not hiding anything anymore." Grissom was smirking now.

"So when did the cat claw its way out" Sara asked.

"When you went missing. I knew it was because Natalie was trying to get back at me," Grissom said.

"Ah. So everyone knows?" Sara asked.

"Yep!" Greg answered this time.

"Everything??" Sara asked pleadingly.

"Hardly! Grissom has been completely tight lipped about the whole thing!" Greg sounded scandalized this time.

"Good," was all she said.

When she got home, later the next day, she was greeted by Hank at the door. He seemed to know that she had been in peril. He licked every inch he could reach. Grissom followed her in the door, carrying her bag of clothes and a few groceries. It had been a while since anyone had eaten hear besides the pooch.

She laughed at Hank and collapsed on the couch, Hank automatically laying across her lap. "I guess we never had that talk, huh?"

Grissom's eyes grew wide. He could not believe that after all that she was still angry about Lady Heather. "No," he replied tentatively, "we didn't."

"Relax, Gil. I'm not mad. I just think that we have some make up-making up to do." He looked at her with a small smile.

"You're still fragile. Is this a good idea?" He was already walking toward her.

"I think so." Sara said softly.

He leaned down and kissed her, passionately. Something that he hadn't done in over a week.


End file.
